The Recipe of Love ??

"Let me see what categories of books you’ve collected here." Devyansh said casually, stepping toward the large, rustic bookshelf that stood proudly in the corner of the room.

It was an eclectic collection.. some books were worn from age, others freshly bound. His fingers lightly brushed against the spines as he picked up two or three books, intrigued.

But before he could get too comfortable, Ishki came marching over like a strict librarian. Without hesitation, she snatched one book from his hand and gave him a look.

"You sat down with a book! Come on, let's do what we do first." she scolded, her tone half stern, half amused.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly, placing the book back in its spot with exaggerated obedience.

"At least tell me what genre you prefer to read." he asked, still amused by her quick interference.

"Thriller romance." She replied shortly, not missing a beat. And without waiting for a response, she walked away with that same no-nonsense stride.

Left behind, He looked down at the empty space in bookshelf where the book used to be and chuckled quietly.

"Oh, so that means she's the crazy-about-love type of girl!" he whispered under his breath with a smirk, clearly entertained by her answer.

Despite their effort, the two of them didn't find the recipe book in that room either. They moved from one room to another, checked shelves, drawers, even peeked behind curtains.

By the time they were done, it felt like the entire house had been turned upside down.

Finally, He flopped onto the living room sofa with a dramatic sigh, stretching out his arms like a man who’d just climbed Everest.

"What now? We couldn't find the recipe book." She muttered in frustration, sitting across from him on the single-seater.

He rolled his head back against the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. "How would I know? Did you bury it in some secret underground vault that it just vanished?"

"Whatever." She mumbled, rubbing her forehead. "We've worked enough for today. Let's just sleep. We have to go to the cafe tomorrow too." she said, getting up and dusting her hands.

"Yeah, let's sleep." He said, stretching again with a yawn. "Anyway, it was a pretty wild day."

As she turned toward her room, She paused and glanced at him with a softer look. "I'm sorry. I feel really bad making you do all this work."

He lifted his head, locking eyes with her. "Hey, don't be sad. I'm not doing this because you asked me to. I'm doing it because I want to. So there's no need for you to feel low. And anyway, this is no big deal for me. See my biceps!" he said, proudly flexing his arm like a child showing off a new toy.

She blinked at him, unimpressed but slightly amused. She didn't respond.

Noticing her silence, He got up, walked up to her, and gently cupped her cheek.

"No more overthinking, okay? Just go to sleep."

She gave a small nod, still unsure how to respond to his sudden tenderness.

"Good night and sweet dreams.. babydoll!" he added playfully.

"Hey! You can't call me babydoll." she shot back immediately, pouting at him.

"Then what should I call you.. babydoll?" he teased again with a mischievous grin.

"My name is Ishki. You can just call me by that."